Finally, the Gennady Golovkin-Canelo Alvarez middleweight title fight has been made for Sept. 16. But will it be a dud, like another highly anticipated fight that took much longer to make?
Not according to Alvarez’s promoter.
“We have two great warriors here,” Oscar De La Hoya said upon announcing the fight inside the ring following Alvarez’s shutout victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “This is the most anticipated fight right next to Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. The difference is this fight is going to have a lot of action, nonstop action.”
It’s rare, but we agree with De La Hoya. It’s hard to imagine this fight not being terrific, as opposed to the 2015 yawn-fest produced by Mayweather and Pacquiao.
Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs), the unified middleweight champion, is a knockout machine who can box and cut off the ring with the best of them. He has a granite chin, too. Since he does get hit, that adds intrigue.
Alvarez also can take a heck of a punch, has plenty of power and is a better boxer than some might think. And you know he wants to shut up all of those who thought he might never fight Golovkin after he put him off for a year.
“I’m very happy that this fight is finally here, the one that a lot of you said would never be made,” Alvarez said, looking out at the large group of reporters.
Yup, all the ingredients are there for a good one. We’ll be surprised if it’s not. It should be competitive, unlike Alvarez’s victory over Chavez, who had nothing to offer.
As the interested parties fielded questions late Saturday from reporters who had just finished writing about Alvarez-Chavez, one wanted to know what Golovkin’s trainer thought about Alvarez’s dominant victory.
Abel Sanchez gave perhaps the most significant response of the news conference.
“I think Canelo displayed great boxing skills,” said Sanchez, of West Covina. “But he’s not going to have Chavez in front of him, it’s going to be Gennady Golovkin.”
This is true, and Alvarez is going to find out the hard way what that means. Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) is a fine fighter, but the feeling here is Golovkin, 35, is practically an immovable object. And he’s outstanding at moving them.
Alvarez, 26, will make a respectable showing for the first half of the fight. But if he engages Golovkin enough, Alvarez will be stopped inside the distance in the second half.
Golovkin knows nothing will come easy, though.
“It’s a difficult fight for both of us,” the champion said.
Again, true enough. But the beast that is Golovkin will prevail in a fight worthy of a rematch.
HBO pay-per-view will televise the fight, whose site is still to be determined.
Speaking of HBO pay-per-view, reports have surfaced saying Saturday’s Alvarez-Chavez bout will exceed a million buys. It’s too bad so many paid for such a lousy fight.
That won’t be the case with Alvarez-Golovkin.
If you care, HBO on Saturday night will replay Alvarez-Chavez.
RUSSELL JR. VS. ESCANDON
At 5-foot-4 1/2, world champion Gary Russell Jr. is somewhat short for a featherweight. Two of the other champions – Leo Santa Cruz and Lee Selby – are 5-7 1/2 and 5-8 1/2, respectively.
But when Russell (27-1, 16 KOs) steps into the ring May 20 to defend his title against Oscar Escandon (25-2, 17 KOs) at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md. (on Showtime), he’ll be facing someone much shorter than himself. His Colombian opponent is just 5-1 1/2.
“I haven’t fought anyone as short as him, but that’s the purpose of training camp,” said Russell, of Capitol Heights, Md. “We bring people in who have a similar style to Escandon. We’ve gotten great work in and I feel prepared.”
One thing’s for sure: Russell doesn’t expect to have to look for Escandon. That’s the way Russell likes it.
“It’s easier against a more aggressive guy,” he said. “It’s hard to go after someone who is retreating. He’s going to bring it right into my face.”
Russell’s younger brothers – super bantamweight Gary Antonio Russell and junior welterweight Gary Antuanne Russell – will also appear on the card in separate non-televised bouts.
ETC.
Diego De La Hoya (17-0, 9 KOs) of Mexicali on May 18 will put his undefeated record on the line when he takes on Erik Ruiz (16-6-1, 6 KOs) of Oxnard in the super bantamweight main event from Casino Del Sol in Tucson (on ESPN2). De La Hoya – cousin of Oscar De La Hoya – is ranked as high as No. 6 in the world by one governing body. … Terence Crawford (30-0, 21 KOs) on May 20 will defend his two junior welterweight titles when he tangles with Felix Diaz (19-1, 9 KOs) of the Dominican Republic at Madison Square Garden in New York City (on HBO).